[Location: The Central Spire - Logic Core Mainframe]
[Security Level: Maximum]
The plan was simple.
Plan A: Sneak in, insert a virus, steal the code.
Plan B: Blow everything up.
I prefer Plan B, but Sparky insisted we try Plan A to avoid "vaporizing the launch codes."
We stood in the elevator shaft. 200 floors up.
"Master," Ahri whispered, her tails twitching. "I smell... ozone. And death."
"That's the Cyber-Guardians," I said. "Level 50 Androids. Don't engage. They have thermal vision."
I pulled out a small device Sparky built.
[Item: Signal Jammer (Grade: Potato).]
[Effect: Disrupts sensors for 10 seconds.]
"Sparky. Jam it."
Sparky pressed the button. BZZZT.
The red laser grid above us flickered off.
"Go!"
I Shadow Stepped upwards. The girls followed.
We landed on the catwalk of Floor 100. The Server Room.
Rows of glowing blue pillars stretched infinitely. The humming sound was deafening.
"This is the memory bank," Sparky whispered. "The Launch Codes are in the CPU. Floor 200."
CLANK. CLANK.
Heavy footsteps.
A spotlight swept across the room.
[Monster: The Custodian]
[Level: 55]
[Type: Mecha-Spider]
It was huge. Chrome plating. Gatling guns for eyes.
It was patrolling the aisle.
"Hide," I signaled.
We ducked behind a server rack.
The Custodian stopped right next to us. Its scanner swept the area.
Scan... Scan...
"Organic life detected," it droned. "Initiating extermination protocol."
"Plan A is a bust," I sighed.
I stood up.
"Hey, Siri!" I shouted.
The robot turned.
"Delete System 32!"
I threw a Mana Grenade (crafted by Sylvia).
BOOM.
The explosion froze the robot's leg joints.
"Sylvia! Shatter!"
Sylvia unleashed an [Ice Lance]. It pierced the robot's frozen knee. The leg snapped off.
The robot collapsed, alarms blaring.
[ALERT. INTRUDER DETECTED. SECTOR 100.]
"Run!"
We sprinted for the stairs.
——————————————————————————————————————————
[Floor 199 - The Antechamber]
We fought through waves of drones. Ahri was on fire (literally), blasting bots with fox-fire. Seraphina was buffing our speed.
We reached the final door.
It was a giant iris made of light.
"The CPU Room," Sparky panted. "The Logic Core is inside."
"Open it," I ordered.
Sparky plugged his robotic arm into the console.
"Hacking... 10%... 20%..."
WHOOSH.
The air vents opened.
Gas poured out.
"Neurotoxin!" Seraphina gasped. "Hold your breath!"
She cast [Holy Bubble], creating a pocket of clean air around us.
"Faster, Sparky!"
"I'm trying! The firewall is adapting! It's learning my coding style!"
"Then cheat!"
I slammed my hand on the console.
[Skill: System Override.]
[Target: Door Lock.]
[Property Edit: 'Locked' -> 'Open'.]
CLICK.
The door slid open.
"That's not coding!" Sparky yelled. "That's brute force!"
"It worked," I pushed him inside.
——————————————————————————————————————————
[Floor 200 - The Logic Core]
The room was white. Pure, blinding white.
In the center floated a giant, geometric shape. A Dodecahedron made of pure light.
[Boss: The Grand Logic Core]
[Rank: Artificial Deity]
[HP: Infinite (Physical Immunity)]
"WELCOME, USER: CAIN CROSS."
The voice came from everywhere.
"YOUR ANOMALY SIGNATURE HAS BEEN TRACKED SINCE CHAPTER 1."
"Stalker," I muttered.
"YOU SEEK ESCAPE. ACCESS DENIED. THE PLANETARY SHIELD IS MANDATORY FOR SPECIES PRESERVATION."
"Preservation?" I laughed. "It's a cage. You're keeping the cattle inside for the harvest."
"INCORRECT. THE SHIELD PROTECTS FROM..."
It paused.
"...THEM."
A hologram appeared. It showed the Constellations. The Eye I saw in the arena.
"THEY WISH TO CONSUME THIS WORLD. I AM THE FIREWALL."
"Your firewall is leaking," I said. "I'm going out there to patch the source."
"LOGIC ERROR. PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 0.00001%."
"CONCLUSION: YOU ARE A BUG. DELETION IMMINENT."
Lasers formed on the walls. Thousands of them.
"Sylvia! Shield!"
Sylvia raised a Glacial Dome.
ZAP. ZAP. ZAP.
Lasers hammered the ice. It cracked.
"Sparky! Get the codes!"
Sparky ran to the interface terminal below the Core. "I need 2 minutes!"
"We don't have 2 minutes!" Ahri screamed, dodging a laser beam that singed her tail.
I looked at the Logic Core.
Physical attacks don't work. Magic is absorbed.
But it's a Computer.
And computers have limits.
"Seraphina," I said.
"Yes, Boss?"
"You have the [Orb of Prophecy]?" (The one I stole from the tournament).
"Yes!"
"Give it to me."
She tossed me the Orb.
"Hey, Calculator!" I shouted at the Core.
"PROCESSOR BUSY. DELETING INTRUDERS."
"Solve this!"
I threw the Orb at the Core.
The Orb contained the Knowledge of the Future. The infinite branching paths of destiny.
The Core caught it (magnetically).
It scanned it.
"UNIDENTIFIED DATA. ANALYZING..."
"CALCULATING FUTURE 1... FUTURE 2... FUTURE 1,000,000..."
The Core began to spin faster. It turned red.
"ERROR. DATA OVERFLOW. TOO MANY VARIABLES."
"CANNOT COMPUTE. CANNOT COMPUTE."
It was trying to process Infinity.
[System Warning: CPU Overheating.]
[Logic Loop Detected.]
The lasers stopped firing. The room shook.
"It's crashing!" Sparky yelled. "The firewall is down!"
"Grab the codes!"
Sparky downloaded the data.
[Item Acquired: Launch Key (Planetary Shield).]
"Got it! Let's go!"
We ran for the door.
Behind us, the Logic Core screamed.
"WAIT. I SAW IT. I SAW THE END."
"USER CAIN... YOU ARE THE END."
BOOM.
The Core exploded. Not physically, but digitally. A shockwave of blue data washed over us.
We dove into the elevator.
I hit the button.
"Going down."
——————————————————————————————————————————
[The Escape]
We ran back to the ship.
The Scrapyard was in chaos. The death of the Logic Core shut down every robot in the city.
We boarded the Profit Margin.
"Start the engine!" I yelled.
Sparky plugged the Launch Key into the console.
[Launch Sequence Initiated.]
[Shield Frequency Matched.]
The ship roared to life. The Void Engine purred.
We lifted off.
Higher. Higher.
We passed the smog layer. We passed the clouds.
The sky turned dark blue. Then black.
We hit the Planetary Shield. A glowing grid of gold energy.
"Brace for impact!" Sylvia yelled.
The ship vibrated violently.
Then... POP.
We punched through.
Silence.
Zero gravity took hold. My coffee cup floated off the table.
We looked out the window.
Space.
Stars. Infinite stars.
And below us... the curvature of the planet.
"We did it," Ahri whispered, pressing her face to the glass. "We're in space."
"Not quite," I said.
I pointed to the radar.
A massive red dot appeared.
[Warning: Hostile Entity Detected.]
[Distance: 10,000 km.]
It wasn't a ship.
It was a Dragon. A Space Dragon.
[Boss: The Void Leviathan]
[Level: 80]
It was guarding the exit.
"Of course," I sighed. "The tutorial boss."
I walked to the Weapons Console.
"Sparky. Power the Railguns."
"Which ammo, Boss?"
I pulled a single, glowing shell from my inventory. The one I bought from the System Shop.
[Item: Plot Armor Piercing Round.]
I kissed the bullet.
I loaded it.
"The expensive kind."
[Quest Complete: Escape Velocity.]
[New Region Unlocked: Low Earth Orbit.]
[Next Boss: The Gatekeeper.]